The present invention relates to a dual-purpose roller skate having two wheel units that could be shifted between a lowered and a lifted position for the roller skate to function like a normal roller skate or an ordinary shoe, respectively.
Skating is a popular exercise suitable for all ages, and in-line roller skates are particularly welcomed among people who love skating because they are superior to other exercises, such as jogging, bicycling, swimming, etc., in terms of their ability of enabling skaters to inspire more oxygen, strengthen muscles, and train to coordinate different body organs and areas during skating. Skating with in-line roller skates also causes less impact on the skaters"" feet than jogging, and is therefore employed as a means of rehabilitation in curing athletic impairments.
The currently commercially available in-line roller skates are designed only for skating and could not be used as ordinary shoes for walking. A skater must take off the in-line roller skates to wear a pair of ordinary shoes when he or she is not in a skating rink or place suitable for skating. Thus, the skater always has to wear a pair of ordinary shoes and carry the in-line roller skates along with him or her to the skating rink. This is very inconvenient for the skater to do so.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a dual-purpose roller skate that could be selectively used as a normal roller skate for skating or an ordinary shoe for walking simply by shifting its position adjustable wheel units into a lowered or a lifted position, respectively.
The position-adjustable wheel units for the dual-purpose roller skate of the present invention are separately fixedly mounted in open-bottomed cavities provided at a sole of the roller skate. Each of the wheel units mainly includes a base fixedly mounted to a top of the cavity, a wheel support pivotally connected to the base and being normally pushed downward by a first torsion spring, a wheel rotatably connected to the wheel support, and a stop arm pivotally connected at an end to one side of the base and having a bent free end normally pushed by a second torsion spring into engagement with a slot provided on the base. The bent end of the stop arm projected into the slot is also adapted to detachably engage with either a top or a lateral notch provided on the wheel support. By engaging the bent end of the stop arm with the top notch, the wheel unit is held in a lowered position to enable the dual-purpose roller skate to function like a normal roller skate for skating, and by engaging the bent end of the stop arm with the lateral notch, the wheel unit is held in a lifted position to enable the dual-purpose roller skate to function like an ordinary shoe for walking.